When the communist leaders began to map out their foreign policies they hada relatively profound and fixed understanding of the world political.situationand the trends of development ，i.e.，that "conflict between the two blocs headed respectively by Americaand the Soviet Union is the most fundamental conflict ，and the struggle betweenthe two blocs is a life-and-death struggle."8In this sense ，the policy "to leanto one side ，"that is ，towards the Soviet Union ，embodied the Communist leaders‘general view of the division of world political forces and trends of development.
As noted by some scholars ，the term "leaning to one side"also had anothermeaning ，and was put forward as the "general fundamental principle of the Party."When he advocated to one side in "On the People ‘s Democratic Dictatorship"MaoZedong was answering a question greater than diplomatic strategy -the questionof the road China would follow.The logical inference was that Mao Zedong ’s considerationof New China‘s diplomatic strategy was closely linked to the nations developmentstrategy，and that the former was also closely linked to the Communist leadership’s decision to set up a people ‘s democratic government and follow the socialistroad .
In recent years Chinese scholars have begun to study the way in which the ChineseCommunist leaders adjusted their basic domestic policies in an effort to forge analliance with the Soviet Union.Newly released archives also show that during Mikoyan‘s visit to Xibaipo and Lui Shaoqi ’s visit to Moscow the Chinese Communist leadersdevoted a great deal of effort to bring Chinese general and specific domestic policiesin line with those of the Soviet Union.It can be definitely stated that it wouldhave been difficult for the Soviet Union to accept New China as an ally if no agreementhad been reached between the CPC and Moscow on the Chinese Communists ‘domesticpolicies.Against the background of two opposed international political and economicsystems ，the ultimate result of high legal coordination between the CPC ’s domesticand foreign policies and those of Moscow was that New China entered into the politicaland economic system headed by the Soviet Union.
"Leaning to one side"involved two aspects：forming an alliance with the SovietUnion and the "non-recognition‘’of imperialist countries.The latter also demonstratedtke revolutionary nature of New China ‘s diplomacy in its embryonic form.In decidingto become an "ally"of the Soviet Union ，the CPC Central Committee also adoptedthe principle of non-recognition of Western nations ，that is，it was in no hurryto establish diplomatic relations with countries such as America and Great Britain，and would be in no hurry to do so for a fairly long period after the founding ofNew China so that the influence of imperialist forces could be completely eradicated.9
The decision of the CPC Central Committee was attributable to two main Considerations：One was to put an end to the century-long history of humiliating diplomacy ，which was also a necessary commitment of the Chinese Revolution.The other moreimportant reason was to prevent America interfering in the Chinese revolution.
The American government released the state Department ‘s White Paper on China-USrelations on 5August 1949，which received prompt and severe criticism from theCPC.The five commentaries written successively by Mao Zedong demonstrated thatthe struggle between intervention and anti-intervention that unfolded in relationto the developmental path for New China was defined by the CPC leadership as themain element in the confrontation between New China and America.The definitionof the nature of the Sino-American confrontation，the alliance with the Soviett Union ，the complete elimination of American influence in China immediately afterthe founding cf New China ，and other similar measures demonstrated that coordinatingSino-American relations would be an extremely difficult and protracted affair ，even if the Korean War had not occurred.
II.Three Major Policy Decisions and the Domestic Orientation of New China‘s Diplomacy
For a long time Chinese scholars have emphasized the complete difference Betweenthe diplomacy of New China and that of the Fast.In fact，there was continuitybetween the diplomacy of New China and that of the past ，as demonstrated by itsdomestic orientation.By domestic orientation we mean that Chinese foreign policiesas a whole were formulated to achieve domestic
political objectives and were swayed by domestic politics.This feature canbe traced back to the mid nineteenth century and lasted into the twentieth century.Previous studies have shown that from the end of the Anti -Japanese War to the foundingof the People ‘s Republic of China the needs of domestic .political struggle werealways one of the CPC Central Committee ’s main considerations in determining itsforeign policies.This practice would inevitably influence the foreign policiesof New China.10
The first and the most important diplomatic move after the founding of New Chinawas the conclusion of a treaty of alliance with the Soviet Union.During Mikoyan‘s visit to Xibaiko and Liu Shaoqi ’s visit to Moscow the leaders of the two stateshad discussed how to handle the old Sino-Soviet treaty and the possibility of signinga new one.When Mao Zedong paid a visit to Moscow soon after the founding of NewChina ，the main problem to be resolved was the concluding of a new treaty.Duringhis first meeting with Stalin on 26Deccmber 1949，Mao Zedong declared that ，"China now needs a breathing spell of three to five years to restore its economyto the pre -war level and to stabilize the nation."，。He also pointed to theobjectives in forging an alliance with the Soviet Union ，that is，that Chinalooked to Moscow for security safeguards，political support and economic assistance，and a new Sino-Soviet treaty would secure these requirements.At first Stalin clearlyruled out the possibility of concluding a new treaty.11
According to a telegram Mao Zedong sent to the CPC Central Committee，it wasonly during his talks with Molotov and others that evening that the Soviet sideagreed to sign a new treaty.Mao Zedong told them that a new treaty would commandsupport from the Chinese people from all walks of life，and be of help in dealingwith the treaties signed by old China with imperialist countries.12Thereafter，Mao Zedong continued to persuade the Soviet side that the new treaty should reflectthe "completely new relationships ‘’between the two countries.``Some of the Chinesepeople are very unhappy with the existing Sino-Soviet treaty，‘’he emphasized.13obviously Mao Zedong used the difficulties he had encountered at home as a pivotfor Soviet concessions.Considering the situation at that at that time there ison reason to doubt that Mao Zedong‘s major concern was centered around domesticpolitical .
Zhou Enlai proved to be a tough negotiator in later talks related to the conclusionof a new treaty ，which astonished the Soviet delegates，who asked，"How canthe Soviet Union and China be regarded as allies now that things are going thisway ？"14On returning after signing the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship ，Allianceand Mutual Assistance ，Mao Zedong emphasized that the new treaty was a "patrioticone"and accorded with the needs of economic construction and national securityin China.15The disturbances in China that followed in the wake of the signing ofagreements in March on the setting up of the Sino-Soviet petroleum and non-ferrousmetal joint-stock companies provided indirect evidence of the necessity for MaoZedong‘s statement.It can be seen from the document drafted by Liu Shaoqi thatthe two agreements had raised doubts among the students and were sharply criticizedby them.16
Time for Washington to Take a Realistic Look at Chin
The Formation of Diplomatic Policy in New China and